Greg's Bite: The Great HP Train Wreck, Mikey really likes it!

Posted by Greg Mills

The Great HP Train Wreck, Mikey likes it, Michel Dell that is. The immediate stock market reaction to the HP implosion was that HP stock went down 20% and Dell went up 7%. The gut reaction of the market to the HP reorganization was sort of as if HP had done the seppuku ceremony where the ancient Japanese publicly cut their own belly open with a sharp knife. A gory, painful and dramatic way to die, indeed, but it sure makes a statement. The age of the PC is over, long live iPad, to paraphrase Steve Jobs.

Part of the problem for HP is with the general perception of the public that the consumer PC manufacturing division of HP was the bulk of their business. That turns out to not be true, since the profit margins of HP PCs is so low, the manufacturing arm of HP wasn't the money maker the pubic imagined. The misconception also comes from the public face of HP, the consumer products that splash the HP logo everywhere. When I think of HP, I think of cheap printers and expensive ink cartridges cleverly designed to keep me from refilling them.

Another part of the public perception of HP is that the business end of HP they hope to enhance isn't as well known outside of business circles. Server and business software is a big business, so HP will trade the likes of Dell and the other PC box assemblers for competitors in business service companies like IBM, Cisco and Oracle.

Only time will tell whether HP was really smart or really stupid, but the move was "really" something. IBM got out of hardware and concentrated on business software successfully, HP has a much harder row to hoe due to both the weak economy and the fact that the two businesses are not that similar. HP was heavily invested in consumer hardware and the prospects for really cashing out of that business isn't too bright. No one in the PC assembly business is big enough to buy the entire HP hardware business so it will be cut up like a fattened steer.

I have read the prognostication of a number of analysts who figure Dell may be the big winner in all this. The massive change in the industry that led HP to cut its losses and get out of the low profit PC business won't benefit Dell any more that it did HP. Apple is likely to continue to suck up a larger share of the declining PC business with its Mac division, which as grown every quarter for 5 years, as mobile grows dramatically with little real competition for Apple.

The cut throat business of assembling lack luster PCs, that just work, but have no magic, will continue to be a soft business from a profit stand point for who ever survives. I expect Apple and the other PC makers to divide the market share HP is abandoning, rather than expecting one competitor to steal the whole thing. I don't look for Windows machines to jump in price due to HP pulling out, there is too much competition.

That the market is going mobile in the form of tablets and smartphones is evident to the entire industry. HP knew the Palm acquisition and the TouchPad and Palm based smartphones were critical to the long term survival of their business. When the Palm product line failed, HP figured they had better get into another line of business, and they did.

Look for a considerable number of HP employees to be hitting the job market soon and for HP to carve its hardware business up into small enough chunks to be able to sell them off. HP will look much different a year from now. When you see the dramatic moves HP made since they realized they were shut out of the mobile computer market by the failure of TouchPad, the combining of the Apple Lion and iOS platforms clearly shows the way Apple sees the future. Mobile rules!

The MacBook Air and iPad will dominate the Apple consumer computer market soon enough. WiFi devices with hard drives allow mobile flash memory devices with limited memory on board to access those hard drives locally as sort of a wireless server mode. The mobile devices also use the Cloud when mobile and I expect MacBook Air to be available with cellular radios soon.

I look for Apple to slim their product line down again soon. The prospects for a larger iPad is likely as the screen resolution of iPad and apps increase under iOS 5, putting an HD screen on a larger iPad becomes less daunting with easy scaleability. The Apple iPad is just too great a product to remain a one size fits all product.

Samsung and the other handset makers are, as Steve Jobs famously put it, flummoxed by Apple's category defining mobile products. With Palm having bitten the dust, the viable mobile operating systems are left to sort out the survivors.

The recent move by Google to purchase Motorola has upset the remaining Android handset makers more than Google expected. Samsung is dusting off their proprietary OS called "Bada" which is the word Ocean in Korean. To Samsung the answer to the Android bag of hurt is to fragment the handset market even more, by adding its own new platform to the mix at the very same time HP failed with the Palm OS. See: http://gizmodo.com/5401326/why-did-samsung-just-announce-another-mobile-os

Fragmenting the Android OS and having a slew of smaller mobile platforms to compete with is to Apple's advantage. After all, developers can only support so many platforms. In politics the mantra is that "all politics is local" while in the smartphone and touch screen tablet world, the mantra is that "it is all about apps".

Creating a modern mobile platform, attracting and supporting app developers, managing an app store and supplying a desirable hardware selection and then marketing it to a somewhat jaded market place dominated for over four years by Apple, is no easy task. Just ask RIM.

Does the world need another mobile OS? I don't think so but Samsung has the resources to launch a spectacular disaster in the fashion of the recent HP train wreck. Apple just continues to be Apple as the industry sees desperation and disasters in Steve Job's wake. That's Greg's Bite anyway

PCalc is a full-featured, scriptable scientific calculator with support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations, as well as an RPN mode, programmable functions, and an extensive set of unit... Read more

FileZilla 3.10.2 - Fast and reliable FTP...

FileZilla (ported from Windows) is a fast and reliable FTP client and server with lots of useful features and an intuitive interface.
Version 3.10.2:
Note: Now requires a 64-bit Intel processor.... Read more

The Hit List 1.1.11 - Advanced reminder...

The Hit List manages the daily chaos of your modern life. It's easy to learn - it's as easy as making lists. And it's powerful enough to let you plan, then forget, then act when the time is right.... Read more

Bartender 1.2.32 - Organize your menu ba...

Bartender lets you organize your menu bar apps.
Features:
Lets you tidy your menu bar apps how you want.
See your menu bar apps when you want.
Hide the apps you need to run, but do not need to... Read more

ClamXav 2.7.5 - Free virus checker, base...

ClamXav is a free virus checker for OS X. It uses the tried, tested, and very popular ClamAV open source antivirus engine as a back end.
I hope you like and use ClamXav a lot and that it helps keep... Read more

xScope 4.1.2 - Onscreen graphic measurem...

xScope is powerful set of tools that are ideal for measuring, inspecting, and testing on-screen graphics and layouts. Its tools float above your desktop windows and can be accessed via a toolbar,... Read more

MacFamilyTree 7.3.3 - Create and explore...

MacFamilyTree gives genealogy a facelift: it's modern, interactive, incredibly fast, and easy to use. We're convinced that generations of chroniclers would have loved to trade in their genealogy... Read more

Skype 7.5.0.738 - Voice-over-internet ph...

Skype allows you to talk to friends, family and co-workers across the Internet without the inconvenience of long distance telephone charges. Using peer-to-peer data transmission technology, Skype... Read more

PushPal 3.0 - Mirror Android notificatio...

PushPal is a client for Pushbullet, which automatically shows you all of your phone's notifications right on your computer. This means you can see who's calling or read text messages even if your... Read more

At this point it’s pretty safe to say that no MOBA is going to dethrone Dota 2 and League of Legends anytime soon. After all, if Batman can’t do it, nobody can. However, with a genre as popular and profitable as this one, there’s still room for... | Read more »

Final February Fun at 148Apps
How do you know what apps are worth your time and money? Just look to the review team at 148Apps. We sort through the chaos and find the apps you’re looking for. The ones we love become Editor’s Choice, standing out... | Read more »

GDC 2015 – Does Not Commute is Definitel...

GDC 2015 – Does Not Commute is Definitely a Game You Should Keep an Eye on
Posted by Rob Rich on March 2nd, 2015 [ permalink ]
We were teased about Mediocre Games’ (Smash Hit,
| Read more »

F84 Games & POW! Announce Stan Lee V...

F84 Games has announced that it is working with legendary comic creator Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment to produce Stan Lee’s Hero Command. The game will be a action adventure of heroic proportions.
| Read more »

Setlyst Keeps Your Set Straight So You C...

Setlyst Keeps Your Set Straight So You Can Focus On Rocking Out.
Posted by Jessica Fisher on March 2nd, 2015 [ permalink ]
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
| Read more »

Space is Vast, So Space Agency Has a Vas...

Space is Vast, So Space Agency Has a Vast New Update!
Posted by Jessica Fisher on March 2nd, 2015 [ permalink ]
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
| Read more »

Size DOES Matter Review

Size DOES Matter Review
By Campbell Bird on March 2nd, 2015
Our Rating: :: HARD TO BEATUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
This rhythm game has a unique control scheme and performance system that make it feel like a true... | Read more »

The first ever action 3D card battler Al...

On the other hand, you probably haven’t played an action 3D card battler – until now. Step forward, All Star Legion.
All Star Legion is a 3D QTE-based action RPG card battler, but fear not – the game itself isn’t as convoluted as its description.... | Read more »

Travel Back to the 1980s With the Making...

Headup Games has released a hilarious making of video for its upcoming title, Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic. The game is a RPG/Roguelike where you control three heroes set to save the township of Pixton from an evil cult called The Sons of Dawn.... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Sale! 15-inch 2.2GHz Retina MacBook Pro for $...

Best Buy has the 15″ 2.2GHz Retina MacBook Pro on sale for $1774.99 $1799.99, or $225 off MSRP. Choose free home shipping or free local store pickup (if available). Price valid for online orders... Read more

27-inch 3.5GHz 5K iMac in stock today and on...

B&H Photo has the 27″ 3.5GHz 5K iMac in stock today and on sale for $2299 including free shipping plus NY sales tax only. Their price is $200 off MSRP, and it’s the lowest price available for... Read more

Apple Launches Free Web-Based Pages and Other...

Apple’s new Web-only access to iWork productivity apps is a free level of iCloud service available to anyone, including people who don’t own or use Apple devices. The service includes access to Apple... Read more

Survey Reveals Solid State Disk (SSD) Technol...

In a recent SSD technology use survey, Kroll Ontrack, a firm specializing in data recovery, found that while nearly 90 percent of respondents leverage the performance and reliability benefits of SSD... Read more

Save up to $600 with Apple refurbished Mac Pr...

The Apple Store is offering Apple Certified Refurbished Mac Pros for up to $600 off the cost of new models. An Apple one-year warranty is included with each Mac Pro, and shipping is free. The... Read more

Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver the George Washington University’s Commencement address to GWU grads on May 17, at which time he will also be awarded an honorary doctorate of public service from the... Read more

Apple restocks refurbished Mac minis for up t...

The Apple Store has restocked Apple Certified Refurbished 2014 Mac minis, with models available starting at $419. Apple’s one-year warranty is included with each mini, and shipping is free:
- 1.4GHz... Read more

Walmart has the 16GB iPad Air 2 WiFi on sale for $446.99 on their online store for a limited time. Choose free shipping or free local store pickup (if available). Sale price for online orders only,... Read more

Jobs Board

*Apple* Solutions Consultant - Retail Sales...

**Job Summary** As an Apple Solutions Consultant (ASC) you are the link between our customers and our products. Your role is to drive the Apple business in a retail
Read more

*Apple* Pay Automation Engineer - iOS System...

**Job Summary** At Apple , great ideas have a way of becoming great products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring passion and dedication to your job
Read more

Sr. Technical Services Consultant, *Apple*...

**Job Summary** Apple Professional Services (APS) has an opening for a senior technical position that contributes to Apple 's efforts for strategic and transactional
Read more

Event Director, *Apple* Retail Marketing -...

…This senior level position is responsible for leading and imagining the Apple Retail Team's global engagement strategy and team. Delivering an overarching brand
Read more

*Apple* Pay - Site Reliability Engineer - Ap...

**Job Summary** Imagine what you could do here. At Apple , great ideas have a way of becoming great products, services, and customer experiences very quickly. Bring
Read more

MacTech is a registered trademark of Xplain Corporation. Xplain, "The journal of Apple technology", Apple Expo, Explain It, MacDev, MacDev-1, THINK Reference, NetProfessional, Apple Expo, MacTech Central, MacTech Domains, MacNews, MacForge, and the MacTutorMan are trademarks or service marks of Xplain Corporation. Sprocket is a registered trademark of eSprocket Corporation. Other trademarks and copyrights appearing in this printing or software remain the property of their respective holders. Not responsible for typographical errors.

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.